To Earn Their Approval
by Aenaris
Summary: When Tonks' parents fail to approve of her relationship with Remus, she goes out of her way to show them he's not the worst choice. Canon compliant.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Tonks family, Remus or the related.

**A/N: ** This is for Peppermintkisses98's 'Love Story Oneshot' Contest. I had to write a humor story with Tonks and the quote below.

* * *

_Many young ladies do not realize just how strong her love is for a man until he fails to pass the approval test by her parents._

I was devastated. After all that convincing Remus that he deserved my love, and the first time he meets my parents, they pull me aside to tell me that they don't approve. He was too old, too poor. He was known as a trouble maker at Hogwarts. Was I willing to take care of him with his... condition?

I knew the answer: none of that mattered because I loved him. Still, my parents' disapproval burned me. My parents and I had always been close; most likely this was due to the fact that my mother had turned her back on her family to be with father and dad's family had little to do with the magical world. The three of us were all we had. I didn't believe that I could handle the separation by running off to marry him without their approval. Yet, how to make them understand?

I might have an idea...

* * *

"Mum, Dad! I'm home! I bought my new boyfriend!" I yelled as I walked in the door, tightly grasping the hand of the man behind me so he couldn't chicken out. I hung up our cloaks and entered the sitting room just as my parents entered the same room from the kitchen. Both paused, staring wide-eyed at the guy I brought with me.

"Nymphadora, may I speak to you in the kitchen?" Her voice quiet steel, subtly informing me that I was in a world of trouble. That was to be expected though, so I tried not to flinch. I fail to see how after all my Auror training and facing bad guys, the scariest thing I know of is still my mother angry.

Kissing him on the cheek, I smiled to reassure him. "Why don't you have a seat and get to know my father while I go speak to Mum for a minute." He shot me an uncertain glance before haughtily striding over and seating himself on the couch. I trailed after my mom.

She was waiting for me as soon as I passed through the doorway. "What is- is that doing in my house?"

I looked at her confused, trying not to laugh at her frustration. "What are you taking about?"

"Why is Draco Malfoy sitting in my front room?" The reply was hissed at me.

That time I did laugh but I covered it up with a cough quick enough that it wasn't noticed by her. "Well, you didn't like my last boyfriend too much, so I thought I should bring my new one by to see if you approve before we start considering marriage." I explained glibly.

"Your boyfriend?" She choked out, likely it was the first time she noticed I said it. Part of me felt bad for stressing her this way, but I reconciled it to the fact that it was a necessary evil.

"Well, I tried to find someone who passed the criteria where Remus failed. Draco just came of age, so I know he can't be too old. The Malfoys are also quite wealthy, so money won't be a problem." I point out calmly, arguing the points that failed before.

"He's a Death Eater and you just left him in the other room with my Muggleborn husband!" Wow, Mum was quite agitated. I was going to be in even more trouble when she found out.

Waving my hand nonchalantly, I ignored her concern. "Oh, he won't do anything today. He can resist those impulses. He is human, after all, unlike a werewolf who has no self control."

Mum's eyes flared slightly, as though she had caught onto the idea that I had gone out of my way to find the one man who would infuriate her the most. "He is your first cousin."

"Oh yeah, but isn't that common in Pureblood families? Not to mention, it's not like there's going to be a high risk of mutation in our children since I had fresh muggleblood in me from Dad." I smiled widely at her.

Mum's eyes narrowed at me. "Don't think that I don't know that you didn't pick him merely to annoy me."

"You mean you don't approve of him?" I asked in mock surprise.

My mother frowned at me. "You were well aware that I would not approve before you brought him over here. At least with Remus, he was a victim of unfortunate circumstances. My nephew, however, is quite deliberate in his misdeeds."

"Does this mean you liked Remus?" I asked, unable to keep the hopeful tone out of my voice. Maybe this would be a little easier than I thought.

"I like Remus just fine. I merely thought that you were capable of choosing someone a little more appropriate to you," she explained to me.

"But how is that any different than your parents? They wanted you to choose someone more appropriate, namely a Pureblood. Why can't you just accept that I love him, like you love Dad?" I argue. Admittedly, my voice sounded a little whiny, but I was just so close.

She opened her mouth, whether to agree or disagree I wasn't sure, when a surprised shout came from the sitting room. My mother gave me a scolding look as she hurried out of the kitchen. I trailed behind her, knowing my ruse was up.

Once I entered, Remus gave me an apologetic smile. Mum was still glancing around, confused by Remus's appearance and the lack of Draco's. Dad was still looking surprised at Remus. Slowly, it began to dawn on my mother. "Nymphadora Tonks," she warned, dragging out my name to emphasize the trouble I was in. I visibly winced at the sound of my first name. Mum turned to Remus. "I remember all the pranks you and your friends pulled in school. This was all your idea, wasn't it?"

Even faced with the wrath of her glare, he had the nerve to laugh. "It was actually all your daughter's idea. I just got dragged along to play my role," he explained smoothly. I wondered how many times he had done that to teachers with his friends.

I grinned cheekily at Mum as she turned back to me. "I nicked some of the Polyjuice potion that the Order has on hand and snuck down into the Slytherin dungeons just before school ended. Malfoy had run off, but his stuff had been forgotten," I shrugged one shoulder at my explanation. "I just wanted you to see that I loved him, and he's not a bad choice."

Mum sighed in defeat, knowing I was going to continue to be stubborn about this. "Fine. Remus is an alright guy and we're okay with you dating him," she conceded.

"Date?" I laughed. "Now that I've got you all in agreement, I'm marrying him. It's going to be next week. I'm not giving any of you a chance to change your minds!"


End file.
